Tuesday, January 10, 2012
The Gaze
I thought that UMan's avoidance of people's eyes reminded me a lot about Jacques Lacan's theory about the "Gaze". Lacan basically says that the feeling of people staring at you, makes you self-conscious enough to stop or change what you're doing. UMan seems to permanently have a "Gaze" on him. He is constantly paranoid that others are judging him. Sounds like the symptoms of the "Gaze" to me.
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6 comments:
I definitely feel like Underground Man has a permanent gaze on him. He is the most self-concious person I've ever read. Obviously he is supposed to be exaggerated and represent many of the people at the time in Russia. I also think that his paranoia is exacerbated by his wanting to feel superior to everyone. He constantly is concerned with appearance and rank/status. Underground Man truly has the gaze upon him.
I agree that the Underground Man always suffers from the "gaze."From the underground man's reactions i feel that Russia really suffered from class distinction during this time. However, when the underground man ran into the solider the solider didnt even seem to care. I think this is an interesting contrast, but i definitly feel that there was a lot of class distinction.
I agree with both of you that the underground man has a permanent gaze upon him. He constantly thinks that people hate him and feels the need to exclude himself from the group. His idea that people hate him make him feel like he has to prove that he is better which further pushes the people in his life away.
I also agree that he suffers from the Gaze. I think this is in part a result of his childhood. Growing up as somewhat of n outcast, with people always judging him, it isn't surprising that he feels this way.
I agree as well. He thinks way to much and people influence him simply because he thinks that they are watching him, which is what the gaze talks about. I think it explains why he wanted to have himself thrown out of a window at one point.
I agree as well. He thinks way to much and people influence him simply because he thinks that they are watching him, which is what the gaze talks about. I think it explains why he wanted to have himself thrown out of a window at one point.
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